lire

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. Flesh, brawn, or muscle; the fleshy part of a person or animal in contradistinction to the bone and skin.

n. The fleshy part of a roast capon, etc. as distinguished from a limb or joint.

n. The cheek.

n. Face; appearance of the face or skin; complexion; hue.

n. The Manx shearwater (bird).

n. Plural form of lira.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. An obsolete form of leer.

n. Flesh; brawn.

n. A cloth manufactured in England in the fifteenth century, and apparently a valuable and rich fabric.

Etymologies

From Middle English lire, lyre, from Old English līra ("any fleshy part of the body, muscle, calf of the leg"). (Wiktionary)

From Middle English lire, lyre, from Old Norse hlýr ("cheeks", plural). Compare Middle English lere, from Old English hlēor ("cheek, countenance, complexion"). More at leer. (Wiktionary)

From Old Norse líri. Cognate with Norwegian lira. (Wiktionary)

From Italian lire. (Wiktionary)

Examples

It granted the pope royal honors and prerogatives and full liberty in the exercise of his religious functions; representatives of foreign powers at the Vatican received diplomatic rights and immunities; the pope received an annual income of 3.25 million lire from the Italian treasury and full enjoyment of the Vatican and other palaces with rights of extraterritoriality.

The next time I met this student he had completed his studies and was employed as a clerk in the Italian railway station at Chiasso, the frontier town on the S. Gottardo, at an annual salary of 1,080 lire, which is about 43 pounds 4s.

Bravado a lire keeps there inside them. when you dig yourself so far into the grave that you cant get out you have to protect yourself and slap all treats down before you can control them by your bravado and false hoods and mysticism.

One friend wrote that he was a demanding visitor, expecting to be fed and running up vast long-distance telephone bills: At the end of the visit he would offer 10,000 lire about Â£4, saying he hadn't used the 'phone much.